PETER MUNZLINGER – GAASTRA SAIL DESIGNER
When we design a race sail we are looking for the maximum performance in many aspects – power, top end speed, acceleration, but also a certain degree of manoeuvrability to jibe around the marks. So it is clear we are talking about a compromise. Water is never completely flat, a certain amount of waves and chop is always present and in spots like Sotavento it can be extreme for racing. So in the compromise of performance we have to mix also some features to self-adapt to these stresses that continuously try to make you lose control. The principal way we get this is with finding the perfect match between sail luff curves and mast bending curves so to get some kind of shock absorbing behaviour of the rig. When you hit chop you don’t want to get airborne and completely lose control, your sail/mast combination’s twists and flexes should release the excess power keeping you on track. Another basic feature in the sails to cope with that is the top being flat and loose and the bottom having most of the shape, this keeps the centre of effort low and aids control a lot. All these features help, but a grand part of the job is also done by the sailor who responds to the impacts, absorbing them mainly with their legs.
“ Your sail/mast combination’s twists and flexes should release the excess power keeping you on track.”
CEDRIC BORDES – TABOU R&D
I always think that boards/sails/fins and even settings must be as simple as possible. If a pro rider has to spend an hour tuning, it makes no sense and will be even worse for the final customer!
For sure there is always some products that perform a bit better on flat water than on chop or vice versa but, as often confirmed in match testing, when a product is good, it is good almost everywhere. So it is our job to really know where the limit is and push the testing in a good direction and not too much towards radical options. So for me, the priority during testing a full on slalom board or even a freeride board, is that the board will naturally sail ‘easy’ over chop, or in ‘hard’ sailing conditions. If this test is fine, the test on flat water will 99% of times be a success also. Without control it is impossible to go fast anyway.
As a rider, for my personal settings, I don’t change anything in terms of size of fins or sail tension whatever the conditions are. I just move the mastfoot forward around 1 cm, and also sometimes my stance with front footstraps 1 or 2 cm forward also, just to be sure that if I touch some crazy chop out of nowhere my gear will stay flat, keep going forward and not launch to the moon!
“ Settings must be as simple as possible.”